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Mayor tells tech giants to act responsibly

Speaking at the South by Southwest interactive media conference in Texas today, the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, will add his voice to calls that media giants and governments should take more responsibility for the impact of technology on the world. Speaking specifically in relation to the emergence of hate speak and fake news, and a recipient himself of online abuse, Mr Khan will ask tech giants to do more to tackle this growing problem:

“We simply must do more to protect people online. Social media platforms already have a legal obligation to remove content that breaks local laws. But this is not always happening, or happening quickly enough.

What we need to see is a stronger duty of care so that social media platforms can live up to their promise to be places that connect, unify and democratise the sharing of information – and be places where everyone feels welcome and valued.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is set to give a speech today at the South by Southwest conference (Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images)

He will also accuse politicians and policy makers of “sitting on their hands” while the tech revolution advances:

“There’s been a dereliction of duty on the part of politicians and policy-makers to ensure that the rapid growth in technology is utilised and steered in a direction that benefits us all”.

Obviously, the Mayor doesn’t want to dissuade tech companies from coming to London all together, and is having steer a careful path between unfettered welcome and warning them off: “we as politicians and policy makers have got to work with you to make sure it works for everyone”.